Metaphors in illness writing can be used in unexpected and creative ways, reimagining and reappropriating the fight metaphor into a space of agency, resistance, self-knowledge, and aesthetic pleasure. This book analyses the illness writing of contemporary North American writers and responds to the call for more metaphor literacy and competence.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2024
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Metaphor in Illness Writing challenges the notion that problematic and limiting metaphors should be discarded or ignored. It argues that metaphors can be employed in innovative and creative ways, rather than being inherently harmful or beneficial. This book examines the illness writing of contemporary North American writers who reimagine and reappropriate the metaphor "illness is a fight." It highlights how Susan Sontag, Audre Lorde, Anatole Broyard, David Foster Wallace, and other writers transform the fight metaphor into a space of agency, resistance, self-knowledge, and aesthetic pleasure. By doing so, the book contributes to the ongoing conversation in Medical Humanities about alternatives to the dominance of narrative and addresses the need for greater metaphor literacy and competence.

Metaphor in Illness Writing

Metaphor in Illness Writing argues that even when a metaphor appears problematic and limiting, it need not be dropped or dismissed. Metaphors are not inherently harmful or beneficial; instead, they can be used in unexpected and creative ways. This book analyses the illness writing of contemporary North American writers who reimagine and reappropriate the supposedly harmful metaphor "illness is a fight" and shows how Susan Sontag, Audre Lorde, Anatole Broyard, David Foster Wallace, and other writers turn the fight metaphor into a space of agency, resistance, self-knowledge, and aesthetic pleasure. It joins a conversation in Medical Humanities about alternatives to the predominance of narrative and responds to the call for more metaphor literacy and metaphor competence.

Metaphor in Illness Writing

Metaphor in Illness Writing challenges the notion that problematic and limiting metaphors should be discarded or ignored. It argues that metaphors can be employed in innovative and creative ways, rather than being inherently harmful or beneficial. This book examines the illness writing of contemporary North American writers who reimagine and reappropriate the metaphor "illness is a fight." It highlights how Susan Sontag, Audre Lorde, Anatole Broyard, David Foster Wallace, and other writers transform the fight metaphor into a space of agency, resistance, self-knowledge, and aesthetic pleasure. By doing so, the book contributes to the ongoing conversation in Medical Humanities about alternatives to the dominance of narrative and addresses the need for greater metaphor literacy and competence.

Weight: 348g
Dimension: 154 x 234 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399500876